July 2013, Sumitomo-Parkwind partnership

20.07.2013

Parkwind entered into a strategic partnership with the Japanese industrial group Sumitomo. By doing so, the current shareholders of Parkwind and its management team, alongside with the shareholders of Belwind & Northwind will be able to count on a strong partner to ensure the further development of its offshore wind activities. In this transaction, Sumitomo will acquire an interest of 39% in Belwind and of 33.3% in Northwind after the necessary regulatory approvals. Parkwind and Sumitomo, together with the other stakeholders of Belwind, also have an agreement to work on the second construction phase of the Belwind project. The current shareholders of Parkwind are Colruyt Group, Korys, the investment holding of the Colruyt family, and the Flemish investment fund PMV. "By teaming up with this partner, Parkwind strengthens its ability to develop the production of sustainable energy at sea. It confirms our position as a leading company in Europe in the field of developing, building and running offshore wind farms," says Wim Biesemans, CEO of Parkwind. "Since the Fukushima incident, Japan has increased its focus on renewable energy sources. The know-how we built up is clearly appreciated at an international level. I am particularly proud that we were able to come to this partnership. The experience gained and the reputation of our team and our shareholders as well as the actual coherent regulatory framework in Belgium gave Sumitomo sufficient confidence to join this project." Belwind, located on the Bligh Bank, about 46 kilometres off the Belgian coast, has been operational since 2010 and its 55 turbines have an installed capacity of 165 MW (megawatt). There are plans to expand the wind farm with another 55 turbines which would double its capacity to reach 330 MW by 2015. Meanwhile the construction of Northwind has started on the Lodewijkbank, 37 kilometres off the Belgian coast. Construction work should be finished by mid 2014. The wind farm will be comprised of 72 turbines for a total capacity of 216 MW. Mainly thanks to its participations in offshore wind energy, the Colruyt Group has since 2011 been generating more power from renewable energy sources (solar and wind energy) than it consumes. When new stores and industrial buildings are constructed or existing ones are renovated, it is systematically examined whether solar panels are feasible. The group also has four onshore wind turbines. Sumitomo has quite a lot of experience in onshore wind projects in Japan, China and the US and recently started up a project in South-Africa. The Belgian projects are the first offshore wind projects for Sumitomo. Sumitomo Corporation is a leading global company engaging in multifaceted business activities. They sell a variety of products and services, conduct import/ export and trilateral business transactions, provide international business investment, and participate in numerous other profitable activities facilitated by their global network and the relationships of trust built with corporate business partners and consumers in various industrial sectors around the world. Colruyt Group operates in the food and non-food distribution sector in Belgium, France and Luxembourg with some 400 own stores and over 500 affiliated stores. In Belgium this involves Colruyt, OKay, Bio-Planet, DreamLand, DreamBaby, Spar and Eurospar. In France, in addition to more than 60 Colruyt stores, there are also affiliated, independent Coccinelle, CocciMarket and Panier Sympa stores. The Group is also actively involved in the food service market, the sale of fuels, printing and document management solutions and the production of green energy. The Group employs over 25,000 people and has sales of over EUR 8.3 billion. Colruyt is listed on NYSE Euronext Brussels (COLR) under ISIN code BE0974256852. PMV is a Flemish investment company. PMV focuses on the sustainable economic development of Flanders, with demonstrable added value for the economy and society. In this framework they are particularly interested in renewable energy. PMV has assets of EUR 900 million under management. Korys is the investment holding of the Colruyt family and it holds a differentiated portfolio of investments intended to create sustainable value. The 3 P's (Planet, People, Profit) are the cornerstone of the investment strategy of Korys. In this respect, the participation of Korys in Parkwind is a perfect example of the type of investments Korys pursues.